“You’re mine now,” Pan says, a few feet below me.
He reaches up, swiping at me with his weapon, a Deer Horn knife. The same one I dreamt about Brink carrying. I kick at him, trying to fend off the blows. The boots protect my feet, and his reach isn’t long enough to get to the rest of me. He moves quickly, climbing higher to get above my position. I unbutton the jacket, slip my arms out, and fall. I loop before hitting the ground, projecting myself behind a pile of rubble on the far side of the room. I land hard, knocking the wind out of my lungs.
Pan isn’t far behind. He’s leaving a trail of dust as he moves. I loop back to where my weapon is, pick it up, and loop again, this time hovering as long as possible. I’m not sure how long I can hold it, or even if I’m supposed to be able to. Pan has stopped in the center of the battle floor. I project myself next to him, my Kopis held in front of me. He doesn’t see me until it’s too late. The blade plunges into his abdomen, but he’s able to push me off. He’s bleeding, but the uniform is holding him together, keeping him alive.
He swings at me, but I activate my shield in time. I take the blade and fight back, cutting him severely. He drops his knives and I kill him, thrusting the blade into his chest. A moment later, his body vanishes as does the rubble and concrete around me.
What kind of place is this? Where did Pan go? What other tricks do the Keepers have up their sleeves?
A voice booms over my head to exit through the door on the other side of the room. Once the door closes behind me, I lean my head against the wall and begin to shake. My body goes almost into a seizure with the reality of what I’ve just done and I collapse to my knees.
How could I have just killed someone? Do the wristbands contribute to this type of behavior? I don’t think I can continue to do this.
Lights flash over my head, so I hang up my sheath on the hook and proceed down the corridor. At the end is another common room, this time with the victors, but I don’t see Brink. Matron Kaniz congratulates me and gestures me to a changing room where the clothes I had on this morning – not the audacious ones, thankfully – are waiting. I change and return to the common room.
“I told you about the jacket,” Matron Kaniz says to me as I sit down beside her and Garrett.
“I wasn’t expecting it to get caught on anything,” I answer. “But I guess I’ll need a new one.”
“You keep what you have. We just won’t replace the jacket.” She stands and leaves the room.
Unlike the other common rooms, the monitors in here aren’t playing The Litarian Battles, so we won’t know the winner of the next battle until they walk through the door. Garrett gets up and brings me a glass of water from the bar along the far wall. I’m still afraid to ask about Brink. I only want to know if he’s alive, but since he’s not here. I’m assuming he didn’t make it. Yet, his opponent isn’t in the room either.
I swallow the last of the water before asking Garrett. “Where’s Brink?”
“He was hurt pretty bad when he exited the floor, so he’s been taken to the medical office. He’ll be back soon.”
I let out my breath, not realizing I’d been holding it. I go to refill my glass and sit back down.
“Are you and he a couple?” Garrett asks.
I practically spit out my water, but instead it goes down into my lungs, making me cough. “No. Why would you ask?”
“I hear you two were pretty close at the orphanage, and that he kissed you before he went onto the floor.”
“He was my roommate, nothing more.”
“That’s good.”
Out of the corner of my eye I catch Garrett smiling. He is attractive, but as this is a winner take all situation, I’m going to try and avoid getting into any kind of relationship. I lean back, resting my head against the top part of the couch, and close my eyes. This battle will have been my easiest as I’m sure the next one will be against a more experienced player. I’m on the verge of falling asleep, when my arm gets bumped. It’s Garrett and he’s pointing to my hands.
“Where’d you get those?” he asks, leaning sideways so he’s fully facing me.
“Aren’t you talkative.”
“What’s wrong with that? Who knows how long we’ll be in this room, and I can’t stand the music videos they play on the displays, so conversation is the only alternative.”
“True.” I take a deep breath and tell him about the raid at the orphanage and how I woke up with my hands butchered.
“Aedox don’t usually return people they take,” he says. “I wonder what their motive was in regards to you.”
“I have a feeling that these scars are the reason I was selected to be sent here.”
“You don’t remember anything of what happened? The only thing you noticed were the scars on your hands?”
I hadn’t thought about looking elsewhere on my body since I was too stunned by what happened to my
